An Arakkoa's Eye View
by theuone
Summary: Once upon a time, Ankarses was a simple Arakkoa, but one thing led to another and suddenly he was an archmage, honing his powers among the best while fighting off an infinite demon army. Alas, not every encounter in his new life is an epic of its own, and so we have this; various scattered events during Ankarses adventures on Azeroth. (Takes place during Legion.)


**(**Cause of course I'd start a new story despite having others. Also, hello other fans of Warcraft as I introduce to you a side-story to an upcoming tale involving my OC, the Arakkoa Ankarses, and his rise to becoming an Archmage and being among our characters to take down the Legion. While that story will follow all that and the many questlines we have, .. not everything will be included there, and thus we have this; various tidbits of interactions and questions of things throughout Azeroth.**)**

**(**Looking back: I cant seem to Tab a paragraph written here in FF docs, and cant make a line-break via my tablet. And yes, I will have the WQ quotes copy-pasted.**)**

**(Set 1)**

Ankarses was an Arakkoa, an avian resident of Draenor, though that was before he traveled to Azeroth and got caught up in battling the Burning Legion. His feathers were a blazing orange with blue-fire-colored tips on his wings, the ruff of feathers on his head, and the tips of his tail feathers too. In addition, his eyes were blue as well, he had a grey beak, and wore a simple blue robe that went down to his knees, but was split in the front, and in the back for his tail feathers.

Right now, Ankarses was walking around the streets of the floating city that was Dalaran, mostly keeping to himself among the various citizens, mages of the Kirin Tor, and other Adventurers like himself. When he stopped outside the alchemy shop, The Agronomical Apothecary, he blinked at the design of the entrance, specifically the bubbly potion style it had, and decided to go right on in, as he had not taken the time to do so before with his first visit. At that time, the only one inside the shop was the bony Forsaken at the lab station to the side, working on some potion or poison. Ankarses didn't know whatever it was with the Forsaken and their strange obsession with alchemy, mainly plagues, if the Stormheim incursion was any example of their works.

Looking around, he also made note of the shelf in the back and its alchemical ingredients, the various plants around the room, and most of all the counter in front with the various potions behind the glass. However, there was one open potion up top, swirling a strange fusion of pink and blue. They say curiosity killed the cat, but in this case it compelled Ankarses to pick up the mixture and take a sip of it.

In hindsight, this could've been an incredibly bad idea that could've resulted in an instant or otherwise horribly gruesome death, what with drinking an unknown potion and being unaware of what it could do. On the other talon/claw/hand, who in their right mind would leave a dangerous potion open on the counter of an equally open store, considering there were children of various races that could be seen running around the city at times.

Fortunately, the next thing that happened wasn't a death, but instead Ankarses gave a squawking burp and then _she_ blinked. Wait, what!? Surely .. no, 'she' was the correct pronoun here. The potion turned him into a her! At least the forsaken hadn't looked up from his experiments, for this suddenly turned to be quite the awkward feeling for Ankarses. She looked around nervously and headed outside, walking at a quick place and searching for a hidden corner of the city to hide in, lest someone should recognize her, which was very possible, considering Ankarses's recent role as an archmage.

Of course, it was also true that Arakkoa had relatively little differences in body per gender, and the differences that existed were known only to the Arakkoa themselves, but this didn't mean that their voices were all the same. For anyone to get into a conversation with Ankarses would recognize her newly feminine voice, and the last thing she wanted was to do that. And she imagined that even Khadgar wouldn't let him/her ever live this down, especially with the wizard's penchant for puns and jokes.

Alas, aside from hiding, the only other thought left in her mind was, "How long does this potion last for?"

* * *

It was a fact that Ankarses loved having wings of his own; it made traveling around so easy compared to others who needed mounts. This was also the case for the rocky lands of Stormheim, in which grappling hooks had to be used if you could not fly.

With that in mind, Ankarses was flying to the hauntingly burial grounds of Haustvald where some of the giant-humans that were the Vrykul had their dead buried, when the Arakkoa then heard the voice of the mystic tree called Vydhar say, "Haustvald is a sacred place that is currently being defiled by pesky ravens. Filthy creatures and so _foul_mouthed. Would you make use of that body of yours and a grappling hook and remove some of those nests?"

It was a confusing thing, wondering how Vydhar could contact him from so far away, though it was something that happened quite often, and not just from the Old Tree. Maybe there was some sort of magic involved, though none that Ankarses could understand. Regardless of that, Ankarses continued his flight around the grounds, again glad he wasn't inhibited like the others were. He started his nest-hunting with the few pillars that stood around; a strange oddity of the land's construction, since he couldn't find a purpose or way they were created.

After that, Ankarses headed to more obvious spots; the roofs of the various dwellings and crypts scattered around the sides of Haustvald, and cleared them each of the raven's nests. He found it odd that the ravens hadn't yet retaliated to try and save their homes ... or maybe it was smart, considering Ankarses was thoroughly talented with fire magics, and had the elven blade Felo'melorn sheathed at his side.

Once he was finished he heard Vydhar once more ... maybe there was some root of him nearby?, "Ravens can be so _rude_ sometimes. I am sure you heard all of the uncouth things they were saying about you and your lineage. Thank you for removing their nests."

Okay, what? This was rather unnerving for Ankarses; what could these ravens possibly know about his proud bloodline? He had a brief thought of retaliating for the unspoken insults, if not for the fact that these were simple birds. Ankarses simply resolved to flying out of there, though with the thought of creating some sort of animal-translation spell; it made for a good pair of mysteries.

* * *

Out of all the lands of Azeroth that Ankarses had seen since his arrival, Stormheim had to be his least favorite. He suspected it to be because of the constantly stormy sky, which, while it didn't rain often, there was still the wind that tended to try and blow him away, and the thunder and lightning crackling above him amongst the clouds. It made his feathers all tingly in a way that he wanted nothing to do with, and it wasn't helped by the fact that Ankarses knew he had a fear of storms. Looking back, this was definitely the case when he and four others had confronted the massive conjuring dubbed the Wrath of Azshara. Unfortunately, it was hard to have a panic attack when you had to save the world from the semi-literal mother-of-storms.

Regardless of that fear, Ankarses found that there was simply a lot of things Stormheim needed help with; the Vrykul were a hardy race that just wouldn't quit, and this was a definite piece of their warrior-culture. Whether it was helping those loyal to the demi-Titan Odyn, or battling those loyal to the Legion and the undead servants of Helya, Ankarses often had his talons full.

At the time, Ankarses was flying around Stormheim's northwestern mountains when he heard the omnipresent voice of Odyn, "Another Jarl has fallen in glorious battle! Today we shall honor his passing. Go forth, champion, and join in the revelry! Just... try not to let it kill you in the process." This gave Ankarses a chuckle; he'd never been ordered to party before - what made the Valarjar happy, he supposed. He had already flown down to the boat and tent of Vrykul he had spotted, and nodded at the nearby Vrykul, soon going about paying his own respects to the deceased warrior.

Afterwards, he looked around; he didn't want to simply fly away as partying was half the deal, but how ever to continue? Ankarses then decided to do what first came to mind, and casually walked over to the tent, proceeding to (almost) stuff his beak with various foods on a plate. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the numerous looks the human-like Vrykul were giving him; was it respect? Confusion? Curiosity? Or perhaps other emotions? In an attempt to ignore said gazes, he did the next best thing, which was raising a mug of ale/mead/alcohol to a Vrykul sitting next to him, and took a gulping drink.

And boy was it strong! The next thing Ankarses knew, he stumbled back up onto his talons and flapped his wings to steady himself. However, this sent a feather floating over to the food of the Vrykul sitting next to him, whom promptly stood up and cursed something in his natural language, (which Ankarses wouldn't have even understood having not been suddenly tipsy), and brandished an axe, charging at him.

Ankarses promptly jumped back to avoid a slash, barely keeping his balance, and squawked out a "sorry". That apparently wasn't enough though, as the warrior simply continued his advance. The first idea that came to Ankarses was to conjure and launch an ice spike through each of his knees, which was successful in causing the warrior to collapse, thanks to cold numbing his legs, and Ankarses simply gave another "sorry". Looking around, he noticed two main glances from those watching him; the first was a mix of intrigue and contempt, and the second was praise, complete with some applause. He would later learn the warrior had been a bit of a jerk to his fellows, but for now Ankarses blinked, smiled, and took a bow. The bird's next act was to return to the table and gulp down another mug, which made him sway around, and took a step back.

His vision was blurry by now and he was running out of ideas to keep himself from just leaving, but then he caught a glance of some manner of rabbit hopping around. Ankarses tried to nudge it away from him with his left talons, but it only hopped back to his legs. He wouldn't normally do what came next, but the only thing he figured to do was to stand back up, and launch it off the cliff with a sharp kick. However, this brought a new problem to his attention; there seemed to be an infestation of these critters running around, and thus the drunken avian spent the next few minutes kicking them away from the party. He wasn't sure why if the rabbits were even real though, as he had no recollection of seeing them before.

Unfortunately, by this point, Ankarses had decided to leave, but ignored the voice of Odyn popping into his head which said "Now THAT is how you honor a fallen warrior! But I think you've had enough revelry for one day." He would later be thankful for the magical properties of mana biscuits, as he would learn the lesson of not flying while drunk, nursing a broken wing on a lower cliff.

...

Whereas Ankarses loathed Stormheim, he adored Val'sharah; it was so ... exotic, when compared to anywhere on Draenor, even Gorgrond. The trees may not have been easy to fly through, but it was so very floral and green and just a touch relaxing. Of course the Emerald Nightmare (should've called it crimson, in his opinion) was a major blight on this peaceful forest, but it thankfully been contained by this point. In addition to his normal duties protecting Val'sharah from the Legion and Nightmare, he occasionally found himself with other manners of tasks for helping out the local druids, including one in particular.

Currently, Ankarses was walking into Lorlathil, when he noticed the Worgen Celestine (of the harvest, she'd correct him) approach him.

"Hello." Ankarses said to her with a nod.

"Hello Archmage, but we have a slight problem. Take a look around." Celestine replied, soon gesturing around the wild town that the druids kept neat with a wave of an arm.

Ankarses blinked and did so, soon noticing how there were easily dozens of acorns scattered around while squirrels ran around unimpeded, "Errr."

"What jokester spread so many acorns in Lorlathil? I realize this task is of the humble variety, but could you relocate some of those squirrels and crack a few nuts while you're at it?" Celestine asked politely, seemingly hiding a grin she might not have had. (not that Ankarses could tell with Worgen snouts.)

He blinked again, "Wait what? You don't instead need me to patrol Black Rook Hold or somewhere else and kill demons?"

"Oh no, we haven't had an invasion all week, but nature still needs some upkeep; its our job as protectors of life." The Worgen replied with both a shake and a nod of her head.

"Okay, but why me? Why not that dryad over there, or you yourself? Why wait for me, an archmage of all people?" Ankarses asked in an incredulous protest, ruffling a couple feathers.

Celestine looked thoughtful at that ... and didn't reply. Or move.

Ankarses let out a sigh, "I'll get right to it."

Of the two tasks, taking care of the nuts was the easier one, as he simply decided to store them in his nigh-bottomless bags. The squirrels however took him a couple hours to relocate, thanks to them just not wanting to cooperate .. or staying in his grasp, from which he eventually settled to a variety of magical abilities of his arsenal, including ice constructs. And he eventually returned to Celestine with a tired look, "Job's done."

She smiled at him, "Thank you for the help, though ... That squirrel invasion was nuts. Get it?"

Ankarses groaned at the joke, "Right." He had a dreadful feeling that this had been one large prank.

...

Azsuna was a fascinating place for Ankarses, what with the Night Elven ghosts and the alien-to-him Naga and the arcane remnants of cataclysmic event that he just loved to learn about. Sadly for him, the Naga were nowhere near friendly ...especially after he and several others had claimed the Tidestone of Golganneth. It wasn't made any better with their use of storm-based magic, which he already hated, and thus they made prime subjects for missions like the one he was on now; assassination.

He was currently flying around Azsuna's western shore, looking for a female Naga called Ursaaj that had been in charge of terrorizing and enslaving the local murlocs. He soon found her under a destroyed dome of an ancient building, and several various beings in cages including a Human, and landed nearby.

"Come for my pearl? It's your destiny." She hissed, extending her many arms in a welcoming gesture.

Ankarses blinked in surprise, "Err no."

He proceeded to grab the hilt of Felo'melorn, knowing they were about to fight. And just in time too; a lightning bolt crackled out from one of Ursaaj's hands. Quick thinking had Ankarses put up a shield of frost, which took the bolt with ease. Ankarses quickly dashed forward, swinging Felo'melorn in a arc across the naga's chest while casting a firebolt at her. Ursaaj hissed and spun with a tail whip to knock him back. He grunted after that, digging his talons into the sandy ground to catch himself. However, he soon found himself squawking pain as a discharge of electricity paralyzed his muscles for a few brief seconds.

Ankarses regained control over himself just in time to sidestep another bolt of electricity, and then Blinked away from another one, arriving behind Ursaaj. He decided to switch tactics and began firing a ray of ice energy at Ursaaj, and up close it quickly began freezing her left arms. She tried to tail whip him again, but he already Blinked away again and began his ray on her right arms. Ursaaj hissed and Ankarses then felt an alien arcane presence with him that hurt him somehow. Through the pulses of pain, he ran back over to Ursaaj and quickly stabbed her through the chest with a super-heated Felo'melorn, and conjured an ice spike point-blank at the naga's face.

Ankarses sighed in relief as Ursaaj hissed in death throes, and then noticed the applauding Human guy in the nearby cage, "Thanks for slaying that witch ... just don't touch her pearl, it's cursed."

Ankarses blinked, "Oh .. really? What's the worst it could do?" He asked, and against his better judgement, picked it up with his free talon.

The guy blinked in stunned surprise, "Turn you into a murloc ..." He soon gestured at a murloc in adjacent cage.

Ankarses squawked and dropped the pearl to the sand, "Yeah no, I wouldn't like that. Let's get you guys out of your cages."

...

(And that's going to be the first set. I've got a few extra ideas, namely dying/spirit healers, specialization-changing, and past lore/content ... each being discussions with various characters about things in the game; I could've added them to this Set, but I think I'll pace myself at 5 per chapter, gives me more that way. That said though, I'm only one person and I'd love to see other possible ideas about what Ankarses could interact to, so please offer suggestions. And heres some comments about each thing so far.

1: Yes, the Transmorphic Tincture is a thing for all of you who don't know ... it only lasts for five minutes though.

2: Haustvald's ravens ... just what exactly do they say? I'd sure love to know lol cause they've a good way of getting under Ankarses' feathers with that.

3: The good ol' A Jarl's Feast world quest, where we party with Vrykul and then get smashed while smashing other things. Sadly though, this part left me with a huge writer's block as I proudly declare I've never been drunk. Thus, I had to guess with how it affected Ankarses.

4: Aw Nuts ... I'd swear it's gotta be a prank put on the PC, cause there should be no way a town full of druids would be unable to prevent that from getting how it is. And sadly Ankarses has just enough to pride to be insulted by senseless labor ... he'll still do it though cause he's a nice bird lol.)

5: I think it's important to mention that Ankarses isn't bound by mechanics, he can mix and match his spells and tactics however much he wants. Also sorry if you don't think the fight scene is good, I don't Action enough to have proper practice with making such. ...Also, Ursaaj's pearl used to be able to turn the PC into a murloc, but after a while, I just haven't been able to recreate it, ... thus Ankarses' safety picking it up. No idea why it stopped being able to be used though.)


End file.
